7:24 PM
It's over.
Finally, this nightmare has ended. The school is no longer sealed, and many survivors are already leaving. Despite everything, this wasn't a catastrophe of mass proportions in terms of deaths. Including Natsuki and Ailiss, only about twenty to thirty percent of the students lost their lives.
Considering it was a game born of black magic, I would have bet no one would survive. Proportionally speaking, this is a much better result than expected.
Obviously, those who perished left an indelible mark on the survivors. Haruki is still despondent, sitting beside Natsuki's body. I got to know him better during this ordeal, and I can imagine his frustration at being unable to save her. He might even grow resentful toward us for keeping so much in the dark. Asahi, Keiko, Natsuki, Takashi—all gone. Only he and Mikoto made it out alive from the student council's upper echelon.
At this moment, acceptance is all that's left for both of us. I must also come to terms with Ailiss's death.
Perhaps Miyu and Manabu can offer inspiration; they've had to soldier on despite Shou's death, something I barely had time to grieve. Maybe the three of us can collaborate to ensure he has a proper funeral now that everything is over.
I see the two of them holding each other, crying near the school gate. Observing them, I realize I must release my pent-up emotions after such a harrowing ordeal. Yet, no tears come. Everything feels static and hollow, far from any semblance of victory. The bullet that struck Ailiss seems to have left an indirect hole in my chest as well.
Ambulances and police vehicles are parked outside the school as uniformed personnel enter the courtyard to carry out the injured.
I glance at my phone to check the date: February 7th. We're still on the same day this started, which means, from an external perspective, we were only trapped in the school until nightfall. Inside, however, time dilated over twentyfold—nearly a week passed in just a few hours.
"You are still with her?" Mikoto asks as she sits beside me.
Yes, I brought Ailiss's body to the courtyard. Is it strange to show such compassion for a completely psychopathic enemy? I suppose so. But I couldn't leave her behind. Any ally who saw me being so considerate to an adversary guilty of countless atrocities would likely turn against me. Mikoto herself must be furious.
"I know this is abnormal behavior, but I couldn't leave her body there. Do you think I'm wrong?" I ask, meeting her gaze.
"Not at all. I understand your reasoning. It would not be surprising if cowards seeking revenge disrespected her corpse. You made the right decision. Ironically, those same cowards would not have had the courage Nakamura-san did to face her head-on," she replies.
She's not angry with me? I thought she'd accuse me of betrayal.
"I'm relieved you think that way. Maybe it's a sign I haven't lost my sanity. By the way, what will happen regarding the black magic? The media won't be able to ignore so many people recounting the supernatural experience we've endured. Somehow, it will reach the public ear."
"Initially, all students who played a passive role in the game should forget about the event as soon as they leave the school. Usually, another explanation overshadows the incident itself, though I cannot say exactly what. For example, they might only recall that some deranged individual locked us in the school until now. Sometimes, the physical explanation each person develops conflicts with others, leading to those bizarre investigative cases with conflicting reports."
Once the injured are attended to, they begin collecting the victims' bodies, including Ailiss's.
I watch bitterly as her body is placed on a stretcher and later taken outside the school. I feel dizzy, much like at the start of the game when I first saw her. In the end, I couldn't understand who she indeed was or if she had any connection to me.
"I know you must be devastated. But, as I mentioned before, my family is responsible for the local shrine. We could provide her with a proper funeral, considering she has no family," Mikoto continues.
No family? Well, that's expected of a professional assassin. But why does it feel like I've heard this before? Did she mention it at some point? I can't clearly recall such a conversation.
Perhaps it's best to let this go and bring this chapter to a close. Maybe it's something I'm not meant to understand.
"I completely agree. However, wouldn't this be excessively generous to an enemy? She threw us into this hell and tried to kill us countless times during the process. Are you going mad, just like me?"
"I am not losing my mind, and I do not think you are either," she sighs. "She is dead. These concepts no longer apply; in death, we are all equal. Our grievances with her no longer hold meaning. She had many chances to kill us, yet we are standing here alive and breathing."
Mikoto seems to have noticed the same detail, and that's tormenting me. If Ailiss was indeed that cruel, if she had absolutely no regard for us, we would surely be dead.
Speaking of death... I can't believe what I'm seeing.
Once again, I glimpse that dreadful image materializing. It stands in the shadows of one of the school blocks, watching us intently.
"So she really appeared. Exactly as described in my family's black magic documents—Death has come to conclude the ritual. She is here to feed," Mikoto says.
Feed? In a literal sense?
Something emerges from Mikoto's chest—a light? It's a color I've never seen before, seemingly outside the visible light spectrum. It's as if I'm perceiving a new frequency of electromagnetic waves.
The geometry of this luminous object resembles a sphere, yet simultaneously a tesseract. It gives me a sense of both unfamiliarity and déjà vu. It's the materialization of contradiction, a paradox deliberately inserted into our universe.
"Mikoto, what's that coming out of you? Are you okay?!" I ask, alarmed.
"There is no need to worry about me. This is a fragment of Death's essence," she turns her face to me, pausing before continuing dramatically, "The souls of everyone who died during the ritual are inside it."
The light drifts toward the presence of Death, being drawn in like matter falling into a black hole.
It's disturbing.
It's growing smaller.
Smaller. The light continues to diminish.
It stops.
It's now a minuscule particle radiating that unique "light."
My déjà vu intensifies, inversely proportional to the size of the mysterious object. It feels as though I have an unfinished mission, a duty I've carried for many years. Instinctively, I reach into my pocket and feel Ailiss's revolver.
When did I take this? Was it unconscious? I genuinely don't know how it ended up here. But everything that was previously so confusing suddenly becomes clear.
"Now that Death has fed, what happens next? Will she finally leave us alone?" I ask.
"She will return to me and wait until the ritual is conjured again. I am destined to carry this curse until my grave. This is the burden the heir of a priestly family must bear for life."
I know exactly what I need to do. It feels like these instructions have been hidden in my brain all along, now brought to the surface. Since when have I known this? There's no time to hesitate or question the validity of this information. If it came to me, there must be a purpose—a way I can help Mikoto escape this curse.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I'm going to take this fate away from you, even if it's against your will," I say, aiming the revolver at the particle slowly drifting toward us.
"Johann, wait! Have you lost your mind?! You cannot do this! If you provoke her, who knows what could happen?!"
Without a word, I pull the trigger. There's no sound of a shot or impact. The particle disintegrates like a tiny supernova in absolute silence, scattering near-microscopic fragments across the room.
"How is this possible?! A bullet should not interact with black magic…" Mikoto's eyes widen as she shifts her gaze to the weapon. "Unless these weapons have some special property. If Ailiss claimed to be a mage assassin, it is plausible they could destroy the conjuration after Death has fed, as the magic would be weakened. But how did you know?"
"I didn't know," I say, watching the particles dissipate like a swarm of fireflies scattering into the dark. "I had the strange feeling someone told me to do this long ago. Maybe saving you from this fate has always been my life's mission. But ultimately, how I became aware doesn't matter anymore. The curse is gone. Now you and your descendants can live without this weight on your shoulders."
Mikoto turns to me, her face visibly relieved.
"Johann, what are you talking about? When did you change your mind?" she narrows her eyes. "I thought you did not want to have children," she says with a teasing smile.
Children? What is she talking about? How did she even get to this point in her reasoning?
"Huh? But I don't. What does that have to do with me?" I realize what she's implying, feel embarrassed, and add, "Sorry, I spoke without thinking."
"Oh, you have really upset me with that statement. How insensitive of you—you should choose your words more carefully. Do not think I will forgive you so easily. Think about it—after everything that is happened between us, do you really think I would want to marry anyone but you?" she says, laughing softly as she continues teasing me.
Upset? Yeah, right. It's obvious she's exploiting the situation I accidentally created to mess with me. This is an aspect of her personality that will never change, and ironically, I only came to know this side of her through this game.
"I've already apologized, so please stop laughing. Wait—" I catch on to her comment. "Marriage? Are you serious?" I ask, surprised.
"What? Are you hesitating?" she sharpens her gaze. "Do not tell me I am not good enough for you?" she says, standing from the bench.
She's taking advantage of my lingering disorientation to keep cornering me.
"That's not it! You misunderstood! I'm not rejecting anything—you caught me off guard. Besides, I think, legally speaking, that would be something for later," I say, standing up and attempting to justify myself.
"Hahaha," she laughs a bit louder and turns to me with her characteristic smugness. "Johann, your reactions are truly priceless; I never tire of them. Here is the deal: I will forgive you if you take responsibility for the house for the first six months after our wedding—which will happen next year," she says, pulling me by the hand toward the school's exit.
Have you even decided on the date of the ceremony? In a situation like this, I can only return her smile and follow her lead.
It seems my once-peaceful yet colorless days are gone for good. First, my life was painted with the blood of despair within this cursed game. But now, I feel like I can explore other colors. Perhaps from now on, alongside Mikoto, I can finally experience the long-sought happiness everyone talks about.
Epilogue
…
The End.